Guilty as Fiction
Guilty as Fiction
(Part 2 of 2)
(Part 2 of 2)
Alright, criminal masterminds (again—on paper only), it’s time for the next phase of our crime saga: The Interrogation. You’ve committed your fictional crime—whether a cold-blooded murder or the illicit theft of a neighbor’s Amazon package (that turned out to be socks). Now, it’s time to face the heat.
Your task: Write a screenplay of an interrogation scene, a scene that will follow (chronologically) the previous crime you’ve written.
You are writing in screenplay format—that means clear scene directions, dialogue, and movement. (Don’t worry, we’ll look at examples together before you start!)
We’ll be watching various interrogation scenes—from the serious (Crime and Punishment’s Porfiry Petrovich) to the ridiculous (Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s dentist interrogation). These will help you see the many ways a detective might approach questioning.
The detective (or interrogator) must be a fully realized character. This is their moment to shine—or totally fumble the case. Consider:
What do they know? What evidence do they have? What are they missing?
What’s their style? Are they aggressive? Calm and calculating? Completely incompetent? A wildcard?
Do they rely on logic or instinct? Are they a by-the-book professional or an intuitive detective who just knows when someone is lying?
What’s the universe doing? Will fate help them crack the case, or are they doomed to be outwitted by the suspect?
A seasoned detective who knows the suspect is guilty but can’t prove it—so they play mind games.
A rookie detective who is in way over their head.
A detective who is completely confident… but hilariously wrong.
A suspect who is clearly guilty but somehow, through sheer dumb luck, keeps slipping away.
A totally innocent suspect who just keeps making themselves look worse.
Format matters. This is a screenplay, so write like one! We’ll go over structure and examples.
Keep it engaging! Tension, humor, or absurdity—lean into what makes your scene work.
Think about the interplay. What is the power dynamic between detective and suspect? Who’s in control?
No overdone tropes. A "bad cop" just yelling the whole time is boring—mix it up!
Remember your crime! This should be connected to the crime you wrote in Part 1.
This is your chance to flex your creative muscles and create a dynamic, character-driven interrogation scene. Whether your detective is the next Sherlock Holmes or the world’s most oblivious investigator, make it fun, make it compelling.